Pedal-operated drum beater and cymbal sounder



Jan.. 19 1926.

A. MORTENSENy PEDAL -OPERATED DRUM BEATER AND GYMBAL SQUNDER Filed May 29, 1924 Patented Jan. 19,

UNITED srarss PATENT OFFICE.

AUGUST MORTENSEN, OF SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA, ASSGNOR T0 THE FRESCO MFG. C0. INC., 0F SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA.

PEDAL-OPERATED DRUM BEATER AND CYMBAL SOUNDER.

Appueaaon filed May ze, 1924. serial No. 716,734.

."1 'Q all whom t may concern Ber-it known that I, AUGUST Mon'rnNsnN, a citizen of the United States, residingv at 2441 Eddy Street, San Francisco, in the county of San Franciscol and State ofCalifoilnia, have inventedvcertain new and useful Improvements in Pedal-Operated Drum Beaters and Cymbal Sounders, of which the following is a` specification.

This invention relates to apparatus for use iii-beating bass drums and cymbals, one bf' the objects of the invention being to provide an attachment which may be applied to a bass drum and which will hold the drum beater in such a position that the ball will strike the head of the drumq the beater being so mounted as to act quickly on the rebound, thereby to insure acer beatingof the drum at any tempo.

A further `Objectis to combine with the drum beater an adjustable and reversible beater for use in connection with the cymbal, it being possible to use this cymbal beater se astof strike a cymbal located at either side ofthe drum or to entirely miss the eymbalif preferred.

Another object vis to provide a beater "which can becollapsed into a compact bundie so as to be conveniently carriedlith the above and other objects in view, the invention resides in the peculiar combination andarrangement of parts to be hereinafterpmore fully-described, illustrated and claimed, it being also an object to provide a device which is simple in construction, durable and efficientin operation and not likely to get out of .working order.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings forming a part of this specification, in which similar characters of reference indicate corresponding parts in all the views, and in which- Figure 1 is a side elevation of the drumbeater attachment, showing the beater in posit-ion to make the forward strike, the cymbal striker being shown in a neutral position;

Fig. 2 isa plan view of the device on the line of Fig. 1 partly in section and partly broken;

` Fing 3 is a side elevation of the drumbeater attachment with the beater tension adjustment in released position and the beater .feleedrearwardly Vready for racking'.

Fig. d is an elevation of the rear end of the drum-beater, illustrating the means for adyustment of the cymbal striker.

lleferrine` to the figures by characters of reference tie base 12 carries at one end a fra-me 13 and said frame constitutes a pair of side arms 1-1, which side arms are secured to the base by means of screws 15 or other suitable fastening means. The frame 13 is substantially U-shaped and extends for some distance beyond one end of the base 12. rilhe arms 14 are provided near their inner ends with upwardly extending integral ear portions 16. An oscillatory shaft member 17, liournaled to and between said ear portions is adapted to carry the drum and cymbal beating member 18, as hereinafter described.

The base 12 is recessed as at 19, to receive an upwardly extending U-shaped member 20, secured within said recess. The treadle member 21 is fulcrumed loosely on a transverse pivot bolt 22, in a spaced relation to the base 12, said bolt 22 is secured within the upwardly extending parts of the member 20. The entire treadle member 21 is preferably covered on its upper surface with a rubber strip 23, so as to allow the foot of the operator to more easily grip the same. The outer end of the treadle vmember 21 is disposed at an angle to the inner end thereof as clearly shown in Fig. 1 so as to allow a better leverage of the member 21 when actuated by the foot of the operator. The base 12 is provided at its end, upon the upper surface thereof with a recess 21. A stiff spring member 25 is secured at 26 within this recess. A feather spring member 2T is secured to the upper surface of the base 12 as at 28 and is'secured to said base by means of screws 29. The spring member 27 is provided for the purpose of retaining the spring member 25 within its position by bearing upon it in a downwardly direction. A plate 30 is secured `to the under surface of the treadle member 21 by means of screws 31 and prevents the end 32 of the spring 27 from wearing directly upon the under surface of the treadle member 21. The outer end 32 of the spring 25 is downwardly folded as shown in Fig. 1 so as to afford an easy ride upon the same when the outer end of the treadle member 21 is forced downwardly. The resisting movement of the spring 25 to the downward force of the Cil treadle member 21 is limited by means of a short screw bolt 33, countersunk into the lower surface of the base 12 and threaded into a U-shaped plate 34, countersunk and secured to the upper surface at the end of the bas-e 12 and downwardly at the sides thereof.

As previously stated the oscillatory shaft member 17 is journaled upon a pivot bolt 35, said bolt being secured within the integral ear portion 16 of the frame 13. Extending radially from this shaft is the drum beater arm 18, which carries at its outer end the beater ball 36. This beater ball is formed of wood, having its striking end composed of compressed felt or other suitable material. The cymbal striker consists of an arm 37, having a head 38 to strike the cymbal, said arm being pivotally mounted on the rear end of the beater ball 36, on a threaded pivot 39. The cymbal striker is illustrated on the drawings in Fig. 1 in a neutral or inoperative position. As illustrated in Fig. 4, the rear end of the beater ball is provided with slots 40, adjacent to and at right angles to each other to accommodate the arm 37 in its movement so that it may be swung from a position transverse to the drum beater arm for striking the cymbal to an inoperative position parallel, or approximately so with the drum beater. The cymbal striker is held in an adjusted position on the drum beater ball 36 by means of a thumb nut 42 threaded on the pivot 39.

By reason of the fact that the drum beater when striking the drum head is not in the plane thereof or in a plane parallel thereto, but slants toward said head, the distance between the cymbal beater and the cymbal may be altered by turning the cymbal beater on its pivot so that it may be made to strike the cymbal with a degree of force desired or not strike it at all.

Reverting to the treadle member 21, a longitudinal angular groove 43 is provided at its upper side accommodating a screw threaded rod 44, within the upper side 'of the treadle member 21. This rod 44 is provided with a cross bar 45. Secured around this cross bar is one end of a flexible band 46, said band passes underneath, and partly surrounds the shaft member 17, and has its other end fastened to the shaft member by means of a close fitting plate member 47 secured to the shaft by screws 48 or other suitable means. This band is secured at an intermediate point to the shaft as indicated at 49. The longitudinal groove 43 is transversely enlarged and deepened as at 50 to accommodate the cross bar and the flexible band attached thereto as shown in Fig. 2. The rubber strip 23, covering the treadle member 21, extends over the enlarged ggjroove 50, but is slotted as at 51, leaving free access to the longitudinal groove 43, to

permit manual operation of the rod 44, as will presently be explained. A thumb nut 52 engages the projecting threaded end of the rod 44 and is designed to bear against an angle plate 53, provided with an opening through which the rod 44 is slidably mounted. This angle plate 53 serves as a closing and holding member across the outer end of the longitudinal groove 43, as shown in Fig. 2.

By the described arrangement it will be observed, that the tension of the flexible band 46 may be adjusted to suit varying conditions of drum beats, by a few turns cf the thumb nut 52 either way respectively, and a depression of one end of the treadle member will cause the other end to pull upward on the band 46, and thus effect a partial rotation of the shaft member 17, and cause the drum beater to swing through an arc to beat the drum. The shaft member 17 and the drum beater are restored after a beating movement by means of a resilient element, preferably a compound spring member 54.

Reverting to the shaft member 17, it will be observed that this member is reduced in circun'iferenee at both ends thereof as at 55 to form a seat for the compound spring member This Springmember is constructed to form an arc at the base of the drum beater arm on the shaft, then extending transversely across the shaft to the reduced ends 55 thereof, to form a short coil surrounding these reduced ends and having its respective endings terminating and fastened into the end of the base 12, underneath and in front of the shaft member. The bas-c 12 is forked at this end to give free movement to the shaft member 17, positioned directly above it.

This mode of construction delivers an action which provides that the drum-beater, after striking the drum-head will instantly recoil, whether or not the treadle member is released by the operator. This is of considerable importance as it provides a perfect escapement.

The operation of the invention or method of en'iploying the drum-beater hereinbeforc described will largely be understood from the description already presented. It has been found in practice that a drinn beating apparatus such as herein described is advantageous because it allows the cymbal to be placed at either side of the drum, as may be. found most convenient. By adjusting the arm 37 downwardly along, or parallel to the arm 18 it can be caused to entirely miss the cymbal. The various adjustments which can be made are of importance. For example, rod 44 can be adjusted longitudinally, thus increasing or decreasing the tension on the flexible band operating the drum-beater, thusl to increase or diminish the force of the stroke. This tension on the drun'i-beater may be varied to suit the performer.

Should the operator desire to remove the drum-beater entirely, he takes hold 'of the beater arm, turns it back slightly from its position, until the thumb nut 52 and its angle plate 53 including the rod #lll are lifted out of the angular groove 43, this releases the tension of the band 46, the parts collapsing by their oivn Weight into the fiat position shown in Fig. 3.

vWhen collapsed the device may be readily set up by sliding the beater arm forward until the rod 44 is'reseated into the angular groove 43.

The material and finish of the several parts of this device may be such as the experience and judgment of the manufacturer may dictate.

While the form of invention herein shown and described is what is believed to be the preferable embodiment thereof, it is nevertheless to be understood that minor changes may be made in form, proportion and detail of construct-ion Without departing` from the spirit and scope of the invention as hereinafter claimed.

Having thus described my invention, what l claim as nen7 and desire to secure by Letters Patent is l. ln a drum beater, a base having upstanding ears, an oscillatory shaft journaled between said ears, a spring actuated drum beater extending from said shaft, a treadle fulcrumed to said base, an operative connection between said shaft and said treadle, said connection comprising a flexible band, one end of said band being secured to said shaft, said band thence. passing underneath said shaft and having the other end thereof secured to adjusting means, said adjusting means consisting of a longitudinally disposed rod, a longitudinal groove provided in said treadle in which said rod operates, means for adjusting and retaining said rod Within said groove, thus normally retaining the drum beater in position of use but permitting said rod to be removed from said. groove in the collapse of the drum beater.

2. In a drum beater, a base having upstanding ears, an oscillatory shaft pivoted to and between said ears, said shaft reducedl circumferentially at its outerends, a Wire spring coiled about said reduced ends, a drum beater extending from said shaft adapted to be maintained in normal position by means of said spring, a treadle fulerumed to said base, said treadle provided with a longitudinally disposed groove, a flexible connection passing underneath said shaft, one end of said said fiexible connection being secured transversely across the upper part of said shaft and the other end thereof being secured to adjusting means, said adjusting means consisting of a longitudinally disposed threaded rod operating Within said longitudinal groove, an adjusting thumb nut positioned upon the rod and adapted to bear against the end of the treadle to regulate the tensioning of said flexible connection and operative connections between said thumb nut and said groove to release said rod from said groove.

In testimony whereof I have affixed my signature.

AUGUST MORTENSEN. 

